A variety of different motorized devices, such as all-terrain vehicles or motor bikes, employ a jackshaft in order to enable the rotational output of a motor to be transferred to a driven member of the device, such as the wheels or other moving implement. The jackshaft often comes in a kit that includes each of the components necessary to mount the jackshaft to the motorized device.
The general structure of the jackshaft utilizes a mounting plate connected to the motor adjacent an output shaft of the motor. As shown in FIG. 1, the prior art jackshaft mounting plate 1000 is mounted flush to the side of the motor 16 and includes an aperture 1002 through which the output shaft 1004 extends. A drive pulley 1006 is mounted to the end of the output shaft 1004 extending through the aperture 1002. The drive pulley 1006 is connected opposite the output shaft 1004 to a driven pulley or sprocket 1008 spaced from drive pulley 1006, such as by a belt of chain. The driven pulley 1008 is mounted to one end of a jackshaft 1010 that extends through an opening in the mounting plate 1000 and is rotatably secured therein by a suitable member, such as a bearing member, and can also be secured directly to the mounting plate 1000 in a suitable manner. The opposite end of the jackshaft 1010 can be directly connected to the motive member of the device, or can be rotatably supported by a separate bearing member, with the opposite end of the jackshaft 1010 including another driven sprocket (not shown) that is operably connected to the connected to the driven member of the device.
With this structure, when the motor 16 is operated, the rotation of the output shaft 1004 of the motor 1006 transfers the rotation of the output shaft 1004 from the output shaft 1004 to the drive pulley 1006, from the drive pulley 1006 to the first driven pulley or sprocket 1008, from the first driven pulley 1008 to the jackshaft 1010, from the jackshaft 1010 to the second driven pullet, and from the second driven pulley to the driven member, e.g, the wheels of the device.
However, when using kits and particularly the mounting plates included in the kits, the plates are configured for use with a limited number of motor designs. Thus, when it is desired to use a particular mounting plate with a motor that is not tailored for the mounting plate, it is necessary to make alterations to the motor to enable the mounting of the plate thereon. These alterations often require the grinding of the engine block cooling fins of the motor to accommodate the mounting plate configuration, which can be time consuming, can negatively affect the operation of the motor, and can void any warranties with regard to the motor.
Accordingly, the prior art does not satisfy the needs and solutions required for a mounting plate for use in securing a jackshaft to motors with different configurations, such that it is desirable to develop a jackshaft mounting plate and kit including the mounting plate that can be universally mounted for use with multiple motor designs and configurations.